My male rats doesn’t get on with the others

The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

DominoLover

Guest
I have three girls and five boys, I have them in big cages next to each other, as I haven’t got a lot of room to put the cages in different places. The boys I have issues with... Jackson, the original (bought on his own because he was the only one left) was lonely, so instead of buying another companion, I ended up buying four more; as you do. I intergrated them, and everything was fine, until Junior, the smallest and most timid, was being picked on, and making a lot of racket at night. So I dug the smaller cage out and popped him in there for a time, right next to the boys, to chill out. Then, Pumpkin (my Russian Topaz) was being excluded, as Jackson (the original), Todd and Max (the twins) had formed a clique, in their hammock, and wasn’t letting him in. So I swapped Pumpkin and Junior around to see if that made any difference. Now the racket has started up again, Pumpkin looks depressed, and has ripped apart a woven net hammock, in the smaller cage, and Junior (as he’s grown a bit bigger now, from being by himself, and able to eat and grow) is picking on the placid Jackson, making him scramble all over he place to get away from the little monster. I don’t know what to do, shall I leave all of them in the one big cage, let them get on with it and where earplugs, or what?
 
are the girls spayed or the boys neutered?
asking because girls going into heat every 3 or 4 days can greatly impact the behaviour of intact males
 
Females going into heat can make males fight, so it may be the problem, or it may be part of the problem

Edit: the boys will be able to smell the girls in the house, no matter how far away they are.
It is also dangerous to have 2 intact sexes in the same household because rats are very smart. very motivated, and people are not perfect 100% of the time

Usually when males are aggressive (if they are in a large enough cage) then neutering is often recommended because male aggression is usually hormonal
If you have access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to safely neuter rats, you might want to consider that. http://ratguide.com/health/reproductive/neuter.php

Lilspaz68 and Jorats will likely be able to make some good suggestions, and you might want to check joinrats.com as well
 
Last edited:
Yep. I think your boys are fine together but when they smell those girls go into heat, it can drive them bonkers. That's probably what's happening.
 
I agree! My boys had ongoing boxing matches the same week I moved my rescue girls in. Thankfully they calmed down over time, but they also weren't housed directly beside the ladies. If housing the cages farther apart isn't doable due to space, neutering is definitely the way to go. :) Wishing you all the best!
 
Back
Top